I've tried to make the guide as short, to the point and easily accessible as possible, please take the time to read it. (After all it took me a few hours to write, ten minutes isn't to much to ask).

This guide will give you an idea of what to expect from IDMf and the people who inhabit it. Mainly it'll give you an idea of what not to do, in the hopes that you never find your threads and posts moved or deleted, your access restricted or a message informing you that you've been banned.

The Moderation team don't take pleasure in having to carry out these kind of tasks (well, diving into a flame war wielding a banhammer looks fun but... umm where was I, oh yeah) but their efforts help make the place what it is, so if you do find yourself brushing up against the Mods please understand they are here to keep the place tidy, fun and accessible.
Mods aren't paid for their time so please don't waste it.

This is a large community and everyone has their own way of putting their point across, don't be offended if someone disagrees with you and uses bad language to do so. If you do think its gone way too far, hit that report button at the bottom of the offending post. Just be aware that the Mods may disagree, if nothing happens don't be dejected. Consider it a learning experience. You may not get on with everyone here, that's life.

On the other hand, we're all here to learn, share and have fun. So get out there (after reading the rest of this guide) and join in the music!

General rules were included in the terms and conditions, read them!

Probably the most important rules are

No abusive behaviour

No SPAM (what promotion is allowed will be covered later on in this guide).

No NSFW outside the Side room (and even there, no porn/gore/etc).

No illegal copyrighted content/torrents/links.

No discussing pirated materials. Asking why your cracked copy of Dubturbo doesn't work isn't going to make you any friends. Support the folk who make the software you use and the arts you enjoy!

In fact no condoning of piracy at all. Its not good advising someone to steal.

Some areas require a certain number of posts before you may create a thread, please don't post useless single sentence replies to reach the limit, Mods will be on the look out for this, please try and make a meaningful contribution to the forum.

Please don't make the same thread/post multiple times.

This is the internet, don't take it too seriously.

Don't be an idiot. The moderators will decide whether or not you're being an idiot. If they tell you that you are, stop it.

The most important rule to remember:

Anything said by anyone on this forum in no way represents the overall views of the forum's users nor the site IDMforums.com and its related web pages.

So you've just signed up, got your profile looking how you want it, time to say hello! Feel free to tell everyone a bit about yourself, share as much or little as you like, although don't expect great replies if you just say hello. Show a bit of your personality and you'll be shown some back.

DO

Let us know a bit about yourself.

Share your reasons for joining.

Say hi to others who have just joined.

DON'T

Feel bad if no one replies, sometimes it can be a little quiet.

Look for feedback on your new killer track. (more about that later)

Just use it as a place to spam links everywhere, especially in other people's threads.

Here's the place to get feedback on your tracks, there are a few things to note before posting here:

Must be a member for 7 days before posting threads, and 30 meaningful posts in other areas of the forum. (no “Great thread”, “Wow I'm impressed”, “this is sounding great!”), this place relies on people adding something of value, if you are found to be 'post count bumping' you will find a mod hot on your heels and will find your post count dropping faster than you can type your one word replies.

After 30 days, you may post threads in the Listening Booth. However, you may only post 1 thread per week until you have 300 posts on the forum as a whole. This is done to reduce the amount of people posting 10-20 tracks a day and pushing other people's music on the board out of sight, and also to encourage people who want to post as many threads as they want to be more active on the board. The Listening Booth is not there for you to promote fifteen tracks, it's there for critique and feedback, so go and make some meaningful posts in the Listening Booth or around other parts of the forum!

If you are posting a track for feedback then try giving some to others first, even if you don't feel qualified feel free to state your opinions (but remember make them meaningful, just saying “great track ” or "I like the kick" is no help at all. Try and write more than a couple of sentences, be specific about particular aspects you like/dislike and what quality it is that made you notice it. Really consider your feedback, the listening booth is a privilege treat it like one.

Don't make loads of threads, the Listening Booth is a popular place and even with everyone making one thread every couple of weeks there's a lot of traffic, don't abuse the facility.

If you aren't looking for feedback or don't want to give any, don't post your track in the Listening Booth.

No constant thread bumping, if you haven't received any feedback and have been giving loads to others wait a week and then feel free to bump your thread once.

Try to tell us a bit about your track. If you had any inspiration that got it started, if you had any intentions while creating it and if you had any plans for it. Any and all information like this will really help your song to stand out and to be more memorable. This isn't completely necessary, but it is encouraged.

Be respectful of others and their criticism. Feel free to talk about what people have to say about your music, but never resort to offensive name calling or bad talking in any way. We're all here to help and learn.

On the other hand, if anyone is notably abusive or rude regarding your music (e.g. "this is utter crap") and offers no signs of constructiveness feel free to report them and we'll have them sorted.

When creating a thread please use the title format: [Genre] Artist - Track name

Don't post material you didn't create.

IDMf Netlabel

IDMf has its very own label! Here you will find info on the releases, as well as stuff from members who have had releases and earned the IDMf Artist tag. There will also be requests for stuff to be put in future releases (be it music or artwork).

IDMf Member Releases

This is where members can offer up details of their own releases. A minimum of 20 meaningful posts is required to create a thread here.

It's split into different sections to help keep things organised, the main section is for general questions and tutorials that don't fit under the other sub-headings.

The Sound Design/Mixing/Studio techniques section is where you go to post those “How do I make x sound?” threads, ask questions about mixing/mastering, sorting out your studio space. This is also where you can post or find sample packs.

The Music Theory & Composition section is self explanatory. There are loads of tutorials about theory and it's the place to go if you are having issues with composition.

The Workstation Center

Here you will find everything you might want to know about the programs used to create music and perform it live. Having an issue with your DAW? Not sure which one is right for you? Don't even know what a DAW is? Heres where you go to find out!

You will need to have posted at least 10 meaningful posts in the studio section before starting threads here.

There is also the Modular Systems & Programming sub-heading which is for users of Reaktor, Supercollider, Max MSP, Buzz and modular synths. Prepare to go in deep!

Things to note:

Use the search function before starting a thread!

A minimum of 5 meaningful posts is required to make threads in the Studio.

And 10 meaningful posts in the studio are required to post in the Workstation area.

This is where members can go to discuss and share anything that doesn't fit under the heading already discussed. It's split into six main headings:

-Introduce yourself (I've already discussed this above)

General Music & Scene Chat

This is where you can go to discuss music topics that don't fit anywhere else. This can include stuff about the business side of things ,as well as non-electronic bands, stuff that's more on the philosophical side of things, recommend music that moves you, sharing your studio set-up and more.

There are also Sub-headings here for more specific topics;

Members' Live sets - Post your live sets/mixes here, please check this thread and this thread to avoid issues with your sets.

If you have something to share please check for the appropriate place to post them, the General discussion area is not appropriate for advertising events/live sets and as always if you are here to try and promote a band, DON'T, you'll find your stay here is short if you do.

The Side Room

This is the forum's general off-topic area. Here you will find out what a bunch of mad cunts really inhabit this place. It is the ONLY area where NSFW content is allowed, but even then NO PORN, GORE, etc. Keep it (relatively) clean, people! This is also the place to share your non-musical creative endeavours, discuss anything and everything (although you will find politics and religion aren't great topics, we like to get along here and discussion in them tends to provoke the worst in people).

Porn, gore, etc. are discouraged but the Side Room is still age 18+ due to the ambiguity of these terms. A moderator will decide if this content is suitable for the board and remove it if they see fit (covered in the FAQ).

No abuse, we are a caring bunch and would rather not hear about this stuff.

Try to avoid topics that will turn into flame wars. (politics and religion are good examples).

Technology & Lifestyle

Get geeky! Talk about new kit you've got, the latest computer games, hardware stuff (that's non-production related), share pics of your ride, chat about the latest films and so on.

Suggestions & Feedback

A place to offer feedback on the site itself, you can also use this area to suggest functions you would like to see added and you can also use this area to post up technical issues you might be having.

IDMf Chatroom

The forum's very own chatroom. Here you can get a bit more realtime! Discuss anything you like (within reason) with other members. You will also find some very knowledgeable people hovering around. Just remember to not take anything said too seriously, some members will have a way of conversing that can seem quite aggressive, don't take it personally, they are just calling it like they see it! Sometimes you will go on and say Hello and will apparently get ignored, again, don't take it personally, there are many reasons for people not immediately acknowledging you, just stick it out and get involved!

Some members have tags above their avatar. Here is a little breakdown of what they mean:

Admin – These are the go to guys when you need something changing or are having issues with the site. They have the most control of the behind the scenes stuff. They are the trinity of the forum Father, the sun(baked astronaut) and the holy Welshman.

Moderator – These are the guys who keep an eye on the forum making sure the place doesn't get spammed up, disorganized, turned into a flame war, that the rules are followed and everyone has a good time here. A bit like police and dustman mixed into one.

Veteran – Some of the ancient, mystical beings who have wandered the forum since its inception, well not its inception, but they've definitely spent too much time on here, well not too much but more than should be mentally healthy.

Supporter 2.0 - Super amazing people who help keep the forum going (you can get one too, just donate to the forum or netlabel)

-Promotion

So you want to let everyone know about your new killer track or a release on your label, first thing to do is check you are putting it in the right place!

If you are looking for honest feedback and maybe some help with a work in progress then use the Listening Booth.

If you have a release of your music that you'd like to share, use the Members' releases section.

If you represent a label and want to add some information about a release, go to the relevant Music by Genre section and then use the Releases sub-section.

If you post about your music, or music you are promoting, outside these areas you may find the thread/post removed pretty quickly, same goes for mixes outside of the designated areas.

If you keep posting in the wrong places then you either need to reread this guide or you will find yourself coming up against the mods! (Yes! Tremble at the thought! MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!! *cough*).

Also, please don't use this forum as a platform to shamelessly self-promote your own website or blog. If you continuously post links to your site or start new threads to promote your site, your posts will be removed & may result in a ban.

-Signatures

Signatures are, as mentioned above, one of the few places you may promote your stuff. There is an agreement on the forum that they should be limited in size. Many forums suffer from people who put eight hundred pictures in their sig (including four iterations of longcat, in series).

Here we try to keep the flow of the forum going by minimising the size of our sigs, so here's a couple of guidelines:

Please keep it short.

One embedded soundcloud track is enough (there's no need for more).

No material that would be against forum rules.

Keep pictures small.

No YouTube videos.

No advertising non-music related services (you may find yourself banned as a spambot if you don't pay attention to this).

-My thread/post disappeared

So you've made a thread promoting your killer mix or are looking for feedback on a tune, next time you go to look it has gone!

Where did it go?

First, check your control panel.

If it's still around it should be under your subscribed thread. Threads can be moved by Mods for various reasons (which have been mentioned above) and as we can sometimes be (re)moving dozens of threads we tend not to contact you about it. If it's still around it should be in your subscribed threads.

If you've checked your subscription list and it isn't there, it may well have been removed.

This happens when you post something against the rules (in which case you should be PM'd about it), in the wrong place and haven't yet gained the privileges required to create a thread in the correct place or have repeatedly posted in the wrong place and the mods have got bored with moving your stuff.

You may not be contacted in these cases as we can sometimes be dealing with a lot of threads and we simply don't have time to let you know.

Its always best to double check you are creating posts/threads in the correct places and that they conform to the forum rules.

That way you shouldn't have any problems at all. In which case....

Scroll up and start reading!

- Why are the threads backwards?

No one knows... its one of the many mysterious behaviors caused by the forum developing consciousness.

They are all ways of showing appreciation for contributions by the other members. The MC rep system was broken during the deep, dark and seedy past when one member got greedy and decided to whore themselves to the whole collective. The members rushed to add to the gush, leaving the whole forum swimming in MC point slush, so nowadays we all try to be a little more selective.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xenon

Once upon a time in peaceful forum right at the heart of the Internet lived a village of joyous IDMf’ers. They were quite a friendly bunch these IDMf’ers, very helpful to all. They always lend hands when an IDMf’er is troubled by something and their warm hospitality even inspires passers-by to settle in with the community. These IDM’fers were real mad cunts.

The higher praise an IDMf’er got, the madder of a cunt he became. And everyone respected this system… Until one day, a few cunts decided that they didn’t want to be just mad cunts; no, it wasn’t good enough for them at all, they wanted to be the maddest of the mad cunts on the Internet.

These cunts got so greedy and started to fabricate ways to rapidly increase their mad cunt status. They started to give each other so many points, and the more they have, the more they could give, and take away. Some of them even had a sadistic pleasure in depriving other IDMf’ers from their points putting them in debt for life.

It was not long before the forum reeked of a dark cloud of mad cunt points hanging in the air, so the points became meaningless. Fortunately, on one sombre day a brave Mod came on his stead, restoring order in the forum and giving MC points a real meaning and a means to spread it responsibly.

And everyone lived, sort of, happily ever after.

The Thanking system has quickly gone a similar way fyi...

Still... is nice being thanked or repped. So do it if you feel another member's contribution is worthy.

Any user abusing thanks will be disabled from giving & receiving it.

This includes creating threads just for the purpose of "receiving" or giving thanks to other members.